After a delay of nearly five years, the 1090-metre long Sarita Vihar underpass was inaugurated on Friday by Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu who said the Government would do everything to decongest Delhi.
The underpass connects Noida to Okhla thereby reducing commuting time between Noida, Sarita Vihar, Okhla and the city. It has six lanes, three each for arrival and departure. The underpass is expected to reduce the travel time between Okhla and Noida from 45 to around 10 minutes. It comprises 533 metres open area and 557 metres covered area, of which the Railways constructed 177 metres. The total height of underpass is 5.5 metres.
After the inauguration, Naidu said, “The underpass was to be completed in 2010 but the Congress Government delayed it, thereby escalating its cost.” “The BJP Government realises that it is public money. Within few months, we held meetings and see, the work is done,” he said. Naidu dismissed any link of the inauguration to the upcoming Delhi elections. BJP MPs Maheish Girri and Ramesh Bidhuri were also present.
The construction of the underpass was actually being carried out by Northern Railways on behalf of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The use of box pushing technique had ensured uninterrupted flow of rail traffic throughout the construction period. The project, which had received a lot of flak for its repeated delays, was recently inspected by the lieutenant Governor.